From fighting terrorism to processing payments in the blink of an eye , facial recognition is set to change our ideas on privacy .

A number of exciting developments in the field could even push its toughest critics to reconsider .

`` The more people get out of it , the more they 'll surrender to it , '' says Manolo Almagro , senior vice president of digital for TPN Inc. . Almagro believes that people will only embrace a technology if the benefits outweigh privacy concerns .

Facial recognition is a computer-based system that automatically identifies a person based on a digital image or video source -- which is then matched to information stored in a database .

Often used in fictional TV-series such as CSI : Crime Scene Investigation , it is soon set to become a real-life tool for fighting crime . In 2014 , the FBI will roll the technology out across the U.S. after pilot testing is completed in some states .

Facial recognition is a key part of the agency 's ambitious $ 1 billion Next Generation Identification System -LRB- NGI -RRB- -- a state-of-the-art biometric identification system that also includes iris scans , DNA analysis and voice identification . The mission is to reduce terrorist and criminal activity by improving and expanding biometric identification as well as criminal history information services .

UK-based Dr. Chris Solomon is an advocate for the technology too . A professor at the University of Kent , Solomon has created an `` electronic sketch artist '' system that has changed how UK police identify criminals . His method is currently used by 90 % of British police and in more than 30 countries .

He explains : `` The key advantage here is that it allows people to respond to faces they see rather than having to break it down into component parts . ''

Credited with helping to solve hundreds of crimes , his facial composite software identifies suspected criminals in a new way . The system , EFIT-V , allows victims and witnesses to select the best and worst matches from a group of computer-generated faces . Based on their responses , the computer eventually `` learns '' what type of face they are after and displays options accordingly .

But facial recognition technology is n't always so straightforward . Identifying faces from closed-circuit-television -LRB- CCTV -RRB- footage can be challenging -- as demonstrated after the Boston Marathon bombings earlier this year .

Marios Savvides , Director of the CMU CyLab Biometrics Center , told CNN 's Tom Foreman that low resolution can be especially challenging .

`` When you look at images collected from standard CCTV footage , the faces are way too small , '' he said in May .

Savvides explained that it is especially difficult matching off-angle images to frontal facial photographs .

The solution Savvides 's team has created is a system that transforms flat photos into 3D . He argues the ability to recreate a suspect from all angles will improve the reliability of facial recognition and also help police track down suspects faster .

The luxury retail sector appears to see potential in facial recognition too . According to the Sunday Times , dozens of stores and hotels are testing the technology in the U.S. , the UK , and the Far East .

UK-based company NEC IT Solutions , which also specializes in identification of terrorists and criminals , has created a system that analyzes the faces of potential customers as they enter shops .

The system then checks this information against a database with celebrities and valued customers -- to help stores identify potential big spenders . Once a match is made , the software alerts staff via computer , tablet or smartphone . It can even provide details such as clothing size and shopping history .

Almagro believes that consumers are likely to volunteer information about themselves online if it enhances their shopping experience and helps provide recommendations that `` make sense . ''

A Finnish company , meanwhile , aims to streamline sales by using facial recognition technology for payments . Helsinki-based Uniqul has patented a system allowing payments to be made without wallets or smartphones .

`` I 've always been fascinated with how people purchase things and started thinking about the ideal way to pay as you walk into a store , '' says Ruslan Pisarenko , the inventor of the idea .

Anticipating potential customer concerns , Pisarenko says that he is n't too concerned the technology could be marred by security risks .

`` We 've been thinking about this from day one . Facial recognition is secure by nature and is fundamentally a biometric technology since you need to be in the store to use the technology . ''

But not everyone has embraced facial recognition with open arms . In 2011 , Facebook introduced a controversial feature which automatically identifies faces in uploaded photos by comparing them to other tagged pictures .

It was rolled out without warning -- a move that backfired in the EU as regulators and privacy campaigners forced the social networking site to turn off the functionality .

In spite of this , Facebook recently announced plans to extend facial recognition to profile photos in other parts of the world .

`` Our goal is to facilitate tagging so that people know when there are photos of them on our service , '' Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan told Reuters .

Amie Stepanovich , the director of the domestic surveillance project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington D.C. argues that Facebook has the largest biometric database in the world , which could eventually compromise its users .

In an interview with NPR , Stephanovich said :

`` No matter how much a company attempts to protect your privacy , if they 're collecting information about you , that information is vulnerable to government search . ''

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Soon , you could pay for goods simply by showing your face to a scanner

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Government agencies are keen to use the technology , with the stated aim of fighting crime

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The FBI will roll out advanced facial recognition technology across the U.S in 2014

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Critics warn of the `` compromising '' risks of giving intimate information away